'CIVILIAN ARMY' OF AMERICANS HELPS FIGHT COLOMBIA'S DRUG WAR

FLORENCIA, Colombia -- The hotshot pilot swoops down at 200 mph in his
Vietnam-era crop duster, gliding only 50 feet over the coca valleys he has
been hired to destroy.

The U.S. Army veteran earns $90,000 a year tax-free as a civilian pilot, but
he understands the downside of this job very well. More than once, he's had
to dodge bullets from peasants and guerrillas trying to protect Colombia's
multibillion-dollar cocaine trade.

This is one pilot who won't mind giving up a big paycheck should his working
conditions continue to deteriorate. "If we start getting into a civil war,
I'm out of here," said the pilot, whose employer has ordered its workers not
to talk to the media. "Americans will be targeted."

For now, though, he is part of a growing civilian army hired by Uncle Sam to
help fight Colombia's war on drugs, to be financed largely by $1.3 billion
in U.S. aid. Daredevil pilots with military experience, retired top brass
and former Green Berets are all part of the effort as the first $300 million
in aid heads to Colombia next month.

Expertise in intelligence and law enforcement is a must. Fluency in Spanish
and knowledge of counter-terrorism, jungle warfare and counter-surveillance
is a plus. While there are limits to the number of American military people
who will be involved in training Colombian troops, there are fewer
restrictions on how many U.S. civilians can be hired by defense contractors.
Hundreds of Americans, lured by hefty salaries for hazardous work, will play
a key role battling guerrillas and traffickers who live off the illicit drug
trade.

"Every pirate, bandit -- everyone who wants to make money on the war --
they're in Colombia," said one congressional aide in Washington, who said he
would speak candidly only if he were not identified. He described efforts to
snare contracts as a "free-for-all."

"This is what we call outsourcing a war," he said. Much of the effort,
however, will come from companies very familiar to the U.S. government. At
least a dozen U.S. firms are lining up to bid on Uncle Sam's foreign
venture.

Pay is high, but so are the risks. The crash of a U.S. Army spy plane that
killed five American soldiers last summer underscored the potential for
casualties. Relatives, including those of Capt. Jose Santiago Jr. of
Orlando, dispute the official Army version of pilot error and suggest a
rebel missile could have shot down the reconnaissance plane.

Three civilian pilots of Reston, Va.-based DynCorp. and EAST Inc., under
contract with the State Department, have died in plane crashes since 1997.

DynCorp did not return telephone calls asking for information on its
Colombia activities.

DynCorp. has up to 30 pilots and crews in charge of fumigating coca fields
with glyphosate, a stronger version of the household weedkiller Roundup.

The company's presence has grown from only a few pilots several years ago to
more than 60 workers at the Larandia military base near here.

It is difficult to predict how many Americans will become a part of the
Colombian conflict.

Up to 100 Special Forces and Navy SEALs already are teaching Colombia's new
military-led counter-narcotics battalions. U.S. workers operating
ground-radar stations and civilian coca-spraying crews provide aircraft
maintenance at Colombian bases.

On any given day, 150 to 250 Americans are helping in Colombia's drug war.

Soldiers as trainers

That number will grow to 500 U.S. troops and 300 civilians under new caps
that can be increased by the president.

American officials say that the U.S. military will not be directly involved
in operations, and the U.S. soldiers will act solely as trainers.

And much of the contract work for non-military help will be given first to
U.S. companies, which will parcel the work to Colombian subcontractors.

Of the $120 million in U.S. non-military aid in the next three years, more
than two-thirds of the contracts will go to U.S. firms or charity groups.

Americans will supervise projects to overhaul Colombia's maligned justice
system, teach farmers to grow alternative crops to coca and opium, and
relocate Colombians fleeing the civil war.

"We are not talking about a large American presence on the ground," said a
senior U.S. aid official in Washington who would speak only on background.
"Frankly, we think the Colombians are better suited to do the jobs that have
to be done."

But American firms are cashing in. Bell-Textron and United Technologies'
Sikorsky Aircraft have signed to deliver 18 new UH-60 Blackhawks and 42
"Super" Huey II helicopters.

Orders are pending for at least 14 more by the Colombian Defense Ministry,
making the windfall for the helicopter makers in excess of $600 million.

Military Personnel Resources Inc., a Virginia-based military-consultant
company run by retired U.S. generals, already is advising the Colombian
armed forces. Other U.S firms have started peddling nighttime surveillance
gear, riverboat technology, aircraft maintenance services and other wares.

While U.S. companies are leading the rush, foreign companies also are
looking to benefit.

Israeli Defense Industries is trying to sell observation technology to the
Colombian Air Force to outfit its Vietnam-era OV-10 "Bronco" planes, the
same ones leased by the U.S. in fumigation raids.

But it is the growing U.S. presence that has critics from Bogota to
Washington calling the American aid package a prelude to another Vietnam
debacle, with U.S. forces being lured into combat.

Already, some of the people working for private U.S. contractors are near
the front lines.

MPRI, for example, has a former brigadier general, six retired colonels and
several former officers in Colombia to help reorganize the Colombian armed
forces under an 18-month Department of Defense contract worth $800,000.

Founded by former U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Carl Vuono in 1987, MPRI has
about $60 million in contracts worldwide with more than 400 employees who
sell their expertise while "capitalizing on the experience and skills of
America's best seasoned professionals," according to a company profile.
Vuono brings a wealth of experience to the job, having led the U.S. Army's
Panama and Gulf War operations.

DynCorp. has at least several dozen pilots and ground-support workers
operating under close guard at Colombian military bases, according to one of
the company pilots.

They fly missions to eradicate coca fields with Colombian police and
military helicopters alongside to provide cover.

DynCorp., a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest defense contractors
in the United States, with strong ties to the CIA and other federal
agencies. It has projected sales worth up to $2.5 billion in defense work
and commercial ventures by next year.

The trend toward using private contractors and hired guns to carry out U.S.
foreign policy is not new. But it's a trend that's growing.

DynCorp., MPRI and other defense contractors have provided services in the
world's hot spots from Bosnia to the Persian Gulf.

Their contracts are supervised by the U.S. Defense or State department.

Defense experts say that this so-called outsourcing is not only cost
efficient, it helps shield U.S. lawmakers from criticism if Americans are
killed or injured.

"The military tends to view the civilian contractors as a lot less
confrontational way of doing business," said Chris Hellman, a senior analyst
at the Center for Defense Information in Washington. "It's perceived as a
more benign presence."

Defense contractors say their aim is not to fight another country's battles.
"We're very transparent," said retired Army Gen. Ed Soyster, an MPRI
spokesman and former head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. "We're
having (the Colombians) restructure, refocus and demonstrate correct
processes."

'Old boys' club'

Soyster would not discuss an MPRI evaluation of Colombian forces earlier
this year, but said, "What we do is set them up so that what they do, they
do it efficiently."

But critics charge that there isn't a lot of oversight in the bidding for
the profitable overseas projects.

"It's an old boys' club," said the congressional aide, who has monitored
Colombia funding. "All these generals get hired (by consultants) and do
nothing."

Soyster, however, defended his company's mission, saying it adheres to
"uncompromising principles of integrity, honor, courage, loyalty and
selfless service."

Like many contractors, MPRI makes its work quite public.

It has a 10,000-name database and has ongoing recruiting at U.S military
bases. Several months ago, it advertised for "highly qualified and
experienced American military officers and senior noncommissioned officers"
for its Colombia-U.S. "working group."

Less forthcoming about its activities is Eagle Aviation Services and
Technology Inc. of Patrick Air Force Base, where fumigation pilots are
trained by the State Department's Bureau of Narcotics and International Law
Enforcement's air division.

The company, also known as EAST Inc., is incorporated in several states but
refuses to discuss its role in Colombia because it sees it as classified.
State Department officials have said EAST is concerned for the safety of its
personnel.

EAST Inc. has placed ads in Ag Pilot, a magazine for crop dusters, to hire
pilots for fumigation work in Colombia's fields. One ad read: "Highly
experienced Ag pilots for year-round positions.

Based in Florida, will work in Central and South America. (Job requires)
ability to speak Spanish and converse in a clear and understandable manner
to a variety of native speakers."

At the Larandia military base 40 miles south of here, American pilots live
in virtual seclusion.

They venture out sometimes for a meal or a drink but only with armed
Colombian soldiers and police in tow.

Mostly, American pilots fly fumigation missions in daylight and darkness.
They work in three-week shifts and then often shuttle back to the United
States for a week off.

Colombian choppers fly cover for the American pilots. But increasingly, the
Americans are becoming targets for the rebels.

Two American pilots flying Vietnam-era OV-10 Broncos in the rebel-infested
Caqueta province last month aborted their spraying mission when they
encountered gunfire.

Even so, one pilot thinks the tide will turn once the full force of the U.S.
commitment takes place.

The rebels, he said, will lose their willpower.

Yet, he also predicts the Colombian pilots aren't prepared for battle
either. "They want us to fight their war for them."